


Animalistic Fear

by Ghost_Writing



Series: Stardew Valley One Shots and Drabbles [2]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adoption, Alpha Sam (Stardew Valley), Alpha Sebastian (Stardew Valley), Alpha Shane (Stardew Valley), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Omegaverse, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Fluff, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Background Relationships, Backstory, Bathing/Washing, Bathtubs, Chubby, Chubby Shane (Stardew Valley), Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Favourite Clothing Soulmates, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Never Said What He Was Doing In The Bathroom, Like sharing a bed but better, M/M, Masturbation in Bathroom, Multi, Nesting, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Nudity, Omega Farmer (Stardew Valley), Omega Verse, Other, Partial Nudity, Pelican Town - Freeform, Pelican Town is a Group Home, Shane needs a hug, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Shopping, Shopping Malls, Slice of Life, Soulmates, Tags Are Hard, slight smutt, soft, tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:54:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23906494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Writing/pseuds/Ghost_Writing
Summary: In a world where it's citizens receive their soulmate's favourite article of clothing on their eighteenth birthday, the government controls most aspects of its citizen's lives including where they live and who they love. Humanity has evolved into three secondary genders, Omega, Alpha and Beta's. Beta's make up most of the workforce, being the most abundant, while Omega's and Alpha's focus on raising children.You've waited three years to meet your soulmate, however, little do you know, your soulmate Shane has waited for eight.Discontinued
Relationships: Alex/Haley (Stardew Valley), Alex/Haley/Harvey (Stardew Valley), Alex/Harvey (Stardew Valley), Caroline/Pierre (Stardew Valley), Haley/Harvey (Stardew Valley), Jas & Marnie & Shane (Stardew Valley), Jas & Shane (Stardew Valley), Jas & Vincent (Stardew Valley), Lewis/Marnie (Stardew Valley), Maru/Penny (Stardew Valley), Player & Jas (Stardew Valley), Robin/Demetrius (Stardew Valley), Sam/Sebastian (Stardew Valley), Shane (Stardew Valley)/Reader, Shane/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Shane/Male Player (Stardew Valley), Shane/Player (Stardew Valley)
Series: Stardew Valley One Shots and Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708618
Comments: 17
Kudos: 108





	1. Pelican Town Group Home

**Author's Note:**

> YES, I'M AWARE OF HOW MANY TAGS I HAVE! I can't stop...

You sit next to Sam in the waiting room of your local pairing office. The two of you had received a call that your appointments for pairing had been approved. So, you sat next to your best friend who was wearing his black hoodie, wrapped up in your own the very much worn, very much too big, blue hoodie.

These hoodies were special to both of you. You two had been sleeping together, both times, in your group’s community nest on the night of your eighteenth birthdays. The hoodies had appeared the next morning and you two had been over the moon with excitement. These hoodies were special because, on your eighteenth birthday, you received a copy of your soulmate’s favourite item of clothing. Yours had been a Joja mart hoodie, while Sam’s was a simple black hoodie. 

Whenever your soulmate wore your article of clothing, you could feel a warmth wash over you, like you were being given a hug. On this particular day, you could feel your soulmates hug. 

However, sadly the generic-ness of your soulmate’s clothing had made it difficult for the government to locate your soulmates. On everyone’s eighteenth birthday, they sent in their favourite article of clothing, making it easy to find each other. 

Since when you receive the clothing, it was an exact copy of your soulmates, any writing on the clothing was taken too… as well as any rips or tears. There were many patches on yours, the sleeve was coming off and there was a hole in the pocket when you received it. However, there was a name on the tag. Shane. 

Scents also clung to the clothing, every time you took a whiff of the hoodie, his scent was there. A soft scent of pizza and rain. It always comforted you, smelling his alpha scent on the hoodie. 

It was three years from your eighteenth birthday. Four for Sam. You had roughly an idea of what was sent to this mysterious Shane. If you guessed right, it was the custom leather jacket with hand-stitched patches and studs. You had that one in your bag at the moment. 

You drummed your fingers on your guitar absent-mindedly while you and Sam sat in silence. It had been fifteen minutes since you arrived, you were counting, and you hadn’t been called into your appointment yet. 

Then a nurse walked out and called for Sam… fuck. What if you never see him again? What if this is your last goodbye?

You stand up.

“Sam wait!” you call to him as he’s about to leave the waiting room.

He turns to you.  
“Gale, what’s wrong?”

You rush up and hug him tightly.  
“If I never see you again… goodbye,” you whisper into his hoodie. 

He wraps his arms around you, holding you tightly, a little bit of alpha coming out of him.  
“Don’t worry Gale. We’ll see each other again,” he reassures you. “Goodbye… for now.”

He lets you go, and you watch as he disappears down the hall. 

You return to sitting with your belongings. Your guitar in his spot now, and your single suitcase resting between your legs. He had the same distant voice as when his mother died, leaving him the legal guardian of his little brother, Vincent. His father had passed from a brain tumour years before then. 

You watch Vincent playing with the blocks in the corner of the room as you wait for your turn. You also watch Sam’s belongings for him until he returns. 

You find yourself drifting into the awful truth that you’d never see your best friend and practically adopted son again until you’re ripped out by the call of your name.

“Gale?” the nurse calls out from the front. 

You get up and walk over to her.  
“Yes?”

“I forgot to grab you before when I took Sam in. I’m very sorry, please, come with me,” she says with a sweet smile on her lips.

“One moment, I gotta let Vincent know,” you tell her and she nods, waiting as you walk over to the little boy and tell him to go sit with your guy’s belongings. 

He does as he’s told and you follow the nurse down the hall and inside of one of the many rooms. 

Inside the room, you find Sam sitting across from a silver-haired Beta man. There’s nothing remarkable about the room, just a wood desk, a couple chairs and a carpeted floor.

“Ah, you must be Gale. Please, have a seat,” the Beta says, gesturing to the empty chair next to Sam.

You nod and take a seat.

“As I was saying to Sam, you both have been assigned to the group home, Pelican Town. The residents gave it this name. We were worried we’d have to split you two up, which would be horrible for Vincent’s development, however, both of your soulmates are already in this home!” he said with excitement lacing his voice.   
“For you, Gale, we had moved your soulmate there because his brother and his mate had been hit by a drunk driver, leaving him to care for their daughter alone in his home. We couldn’t leave him alone in the home, so we moved him and the girl into Pelican Town because his aunt lived there.”

You take a moment to process what you’ve just been told as he hands you a large folder containing information about your soulmate. Shane was written across the front of the folder, reconfirming the name on your hoodie. 

“Sam, your soulmate lived there since childhood. His mother was from another home, we misplaced her with the wrong soulmate and corrected our mistake. Thankfully we did so, there was no love between the two of them. However, she was too far pregnant with your soulmate when we moved her and she decided to keep him. She’s now with the correct soulmate, but he needs more attention than you think when you meet him. He doesn’t get enough of it,” the beta explains as he hands Sam a similar folder as yours.

You still hold your folder in your hand, not opening it. Just turning it over in your hands.

“There isn’t much to say about Pelican Town. Sam, you probably know this but just in case, since you’re caring for Vincent, you aren’t expected to have a job. Gale, you’re an Omega so you don’t have to worry either. Did both of you pack all the belongings you wish to take?”

“Y-yeah,” you say, still staring at the front of your folder.

“Good, then the transporters will take you three over to Pelican Town immediately. Take these folders, they’re for your soulmates,” he hands you another folder, as well as Sam, with your and Sam’s names on them. “Any questions?”

“You said he was caring for his niece?” you whisper softly, looking up at him.

“Ah, you will find all you need to know about her in that folder. She’s considered his god-daughter because that’s what his brother said.”

“Okay.”

After a few awkward moments of silence and no further questions, you and Sam are ushered out by two transporters. A beta female and a beta male. They give you friendly smiles as you walk back to the waiting room and gather your belongings. They don’t let you, in particular, carry anything, on the account of you being an omega. You huff and take your guitar anyways. Sexism at it’s finest.

Vincent walks in between the two of you, holding both your hands as one of the transporters leads the way to a van. Your belongings are put in the trunk and you sit in the back row of the seats with Vincent sitting next to Sam in the second row and the transporters in the front row.

The journey was long, by the time you reached the destination it was late afternoon. Vincent was napping, being only six. Sam was sharing his music with you so you didn’t get bored as the transporters stayed mostly silent.

You finally read over the folder you’d been handed. It told you mostly general information about Shane, things like his favourite food being pizza and hot peppers, how he’s legally responsible for his niece, Jas, how he’s on prescription for Zoloft for depression, and his age being twenty-six.

The silence was broken by the transporters announcing your arrival.

You looked outside to see a large winding path through a forest. You were far out of the city, enough so that Vincent will probably have to bus to school. That was fine, you grew up too close to the city and always longing for the forest.

You hop out of the van and grab your guitar. Sam grabs both of your belongings as you undo Vincent from his car seat and pick him up as he sleepily opens his eyes.

“Ssh honey, go back to sleep,” you whisper as he rubs his eyes and asks what’s going on. 

Unfortunatley, it takes two seconds for him to be wide awake as he sees the trees around him.

“Forest! Sam, we’re in a forest!” he babbles, his legs wrapped around your waist as he looks at Sam with big eyes.

“Yes Vincent, we’re in a forest. This is our new home,” Sam explains to the little boy.

“Really?” he asks with amazement in his star-struck eyes.

“Mhm,” Sam hums as you wave goodbye to the transporters and walk up the trail.

It’s a brisk walk as Vincent babbles with Sam on your shoulder. You watch the forest around you give way for a large clearing as a massive house comes into view.

It was huge and mansion-like, but also designed like a townhouse mixed with a log cabin. It had peaked roofs and a grey-brick chimney. The outside was panelled with wood and the windows had a cross dividing up the glass as they sat in the wall. There were two towers to the expanse, and the house itself stretched farther than any you’d ever seen. There were also a few houses scattered about the property, some larger than others, two being greenhouses. But this one looked like the main house.

You caught Sam gaping at it, his grip tightening on his own guitar. You nudge him to close his mouth as you two approached the large doors.

Vincent rang the doorbell, beaming as they heard it chime inside. There was a thumb and a gaggle of voices and shouts before a very small, black-haired girl opened the door.

“Hello?” she said with a cocked head, looking up at you.

She looked around Vincent’s age, maybe a little older.

“Hi there, can we come inside?” you ask, still holding Vincent while trying not to obsess over this obscenely cute little girl.

“Why?” she asked, blinking her round eyes.

“I- well-” You stutter.

“Jas, what did I tell you about answering the door?” An older, brown-haired beta huffs, coming up behind her.

You look at the girl in surprise. This is Shane’s god-daughter and niece.

“S-sorry aunty, I was just curious!” Jas apologizes as she steps aside to let you and Sam inside.

“Hi, sorry to be here so sudden, I’m Gale, this is Sam and this is Vincent,” you introduce yourself to the two of them as Vincent begs to be put down.

“I’m Marnie and this little one’s Jas. What, or should I say, who brings you to Pelican Town?” Marnie asks as you set down Vincent.

“Ah- you see…-” you stutter, trying to think of a way to explain this. Even though it’s normal, it still feels awkward.

“We’re here for Sebastian and Shane,” Sam says, saving your ass. “Not to take them away or anything, but Sebastian’s my mate and Shane’s theirs.”

Marnie lights up like someone just gave her her soulmate.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! That’s so wonderful! Robin come over here!” she calls and you finally look around the room you’ve found yourself in.

It has a large open layout with a huge kitchen island and all the counters and stove and fridge against the outside wall, a window above the sink and stove. There are a few couches by a sizeable tv. But the main thing that catches your eye is the large community nest that takes up most of the floor. It’s in an ovular shape, covered in blankets and pillows and people!

You can see a grey-haired omega man, a red-haired omega woman who’d just turned towards Marnie’s call, a black-haired beta man sitting next to her. Across from him was a blond alpha man and a green-haired omega woman chatting with a Burnett omega man with large, round glasses and a purple-haired alpha woman. At the island was a long, light-brown haired omega man chatting with a red-haired omega woman, and standing in the kitchen was a blue-haired beta woman staring at you with shock.

The red-haired omega moved over to where you were standing at the door.  
“Did you say you’re here for Sebastian?” she asked Sam.

“Yeah,” Sam nodded in confirmation. “Why?”

“I’m his mother,” she pulls him into a tight hug, “thank you…”

“Your welcome,” he whispers back, hugging her tightly.

“I was starting to lose hope we’d find Shane’s mate…” Marnie admits to you as Jas and Vincent run off to play.

“I know, it’s been a long time for you. They gave me a briefing folder at the office,” you say, putting your hand on Marnie’s shoulder. “But I’m here now. That’s all that matters.”

“Thank Yoba you are,” Marnie says with an exhausted smile.

Sam had disappeared with Robin, something about her taking him to Sebastian immediately.

“So, um… can I… see him, please?” You ask awkwardly.

“You can, but, prepare yourself. You aren’t going to like what you see.”


	2. Cookies and Leather Jackets

“What do you mean, I’m not going to like what I see?” you ask, looking at Marnie with shock.

“Well… it’s… he’s in bad shape. Ever since his brother died it, he hasn’t really recovered,” Marnie explains, leaving your heart hanging heavy in your chest.

You shrug at Marnie, holding up the folder with his name printed on it.  
“Marnie, I practically raised Vincent with Sam, I’m wearing Shane’s hoodie and I helped Sam when he lost both his parents. It can’t be that bad.”

She sighs.  
“That’s what I said when he first came… you can still go, no one will hold it to you.”

You’re about to reply with an overconfident response, but something tugs on your pant leg. You look down, and Jas is standing next to you, looking up at you.

“Are you going to help my da’?” she asks her little voice almost a squeak. You can see a few tears in her eyes.

You crouch down in front of her.  
“Did Vincent tell you?” 

“No, you’re wearing his hoodie. Are you really going to help him?” she sniffles, wiping her eyes a bit.

You give her a sad smile and pull her into a hug.  
“Yes. I’m going to help him,” you assure her.

She clings to you, nestling her little head into your shoulder.  
“Thank you,” she whispers.

Your words get caught in your throat, you barely must out an “of course” to her.

She wiggles free from your arms and takes your hand, wiping her face on her sleeve.  
“Come on, I’ll take you to him! I haven’t seen him all day and I made cookies with Marnie for him!” she proudly announces, running off to the kitchen, dragging you with her.

She gets a plate from the fridge, well, you get the plate down for her and pass it to her. It’s full of sugar cookies in the shape of chickens and chocolate chip cookies. She’s beaming with pride as she carries the plate.

You follow her down the hallway on the other side of the living room from the door you came in from. The hallways long and wide, you pass a few doors along the way and Jas points out the washroom to you.  
Eventually, you see a door at the end of the hall, it looks like the others, except the paint, is chipping off the sides of the frame from being slammed far too many times. A little bit of you winces at what you’re about to find. Maybe Marnie was right.

Just as you’re about to doubt your decision, Jas grabs your hand and gives you a smile.

“He’s going to love you,” she tells you. It’s childish innocence, but to you, it’s like being told by angels.

“Thanks Jas,” you whisper to her as she stops at the door.

She holds the plate out to you, and you take it. Then she reaches and opens the door, surprisingly, it swings open. Unlocked. 

The room inside is dark. The blinds are drawn on one side of the room and it’s a damn mess. There are clothes and bottles and dishes all over the floor. Pushed in the corner of the room is a large, kingsized bed with a headboard running around the frame except for one side. There are blankets shittily piled on top of the bed and you can see a suspiciously human-sized lump on the top of the bed. 

The room itself is quite large, with an untouched well in the floor where a nest could go. Currently, it’s just a hole with a single, white sheet overtop the mattress underneath. 

The room is intimidating, and the moment you step inside and take a breath, you can smell the sadness and alcohol in his system and the room. His scent is droopy and woozy, uncertain and certainly nothing like the one that clings to your hoodie. But it does have the same undertones to it, much more rain in the smell with a thin hint of pizza.

Jas seems not to notice and she races forwards and leaps onto the bed.

“Da’!” she cheers, hugging the figure in the blankets.

Then you hear it. A gruff, raspy voice of a hungover and upset alpha.  
“Go away Jas… you shouldn’t see me like this…”

“No! I brought you cookies! I wanna see you eat one!” she protests, letting go of the lump and running back over to you. She waves you to bend down and whispers into your ear, taking the plate.  
“Open the blinds,” she tells you.

You nod and she rushes back to the bed, clambering back on top and presenting the cookies.

Using all the confidence you have in yourself, you shut the door. Out of instinct, you release your scent with a calming intention. Something you mastered from sleepless nights with Sam and Vincent.  
You walk over to the blinds, opening them by pulling the cord next to them. The room floods with gentle afternoon light. The view is right out to a small lake with trees all around the shore and the window.

Taking a deep breath in, you turn around and your eyes meet his. 

He’s sitting halfway up in the bed, the sheets and blankets pooling around him. He has a five o’clock shadow, his hair needs a brushing as it stands straight up. You can see the bags under his eyes from where you stand and the drool on his chin from sleeping. Your heart catches in your throat when you notice the leather jacket hanging from his shoulders.

It’s an identical copy of yours.

You struggle with any words to say, it looks like he does too.

Jas’s voice cuts through the silence.  
“Come on Gale!” she calls, running over to you and dragging you over to the bed.

You stop at the edge of the bed, looking at Shane.  
“May I?” 

He nods frantically, scooching backwards so you can sit on the bed too.

As you take a seat, the thick scent of pizza and rain washing over you, a warmth in your core as the omega inside you goes nuts about being able to sit in an alpha’s nest, Jas hands you a cookie.

You take it, the icing on it decorating it as a blue chicken.

“Marnie and I baked them this morning, but we didn’t have white icing so they’re blue!” Jas explains with the brightest smile on her face.

“I think they’re pretty,” you tell her, biting into the cookie. It tastes heavenly and a big smile spreads across your face.

You’re quick to tell Jas how much you like the cookie and she smiles like it’s the morning of the Winter Star Festival.

The three of you sit there for a while, eating cookies as Jas babbles about baking with Marnie and how excited she was to share them with Shane.

Shane nods along, not saying much other than how good they were and how good of a job she’d done. You see him hold his head a little too tightly and add a little bit of scent that takes minds off the pain to the air.

Once you three have eaten your fill, Jas says she wants to take you back to the kitchen for a moment. You go along with it to grab your suitcase from the living room and a glass of water so you can get some pain meds for Shane. Jas drags you from the room, leaving Shane to wallow in his bed for a while.

It takes three minutes for her to let go of her hug on you once you get to the kitchen. It would be fine if it wasn’t the most painful three minutes of your life. Your whole body willing you to go back to Shane. 

You grab your suitcase from where you left it at the door, giving Marnie a thumbs up as you pass by the community nest. You almost forget the water from the kitchen until Jas runs up to you with two water bottles. You thank her and tell her to go play with Vincent. She beams at you and runs off.

You walk back down the hall, reaching the door at a fast pace, but you stop outside his door. It takes more than a few deep breathes for you to not run in the room and kiss him. Once you composed yourself, you step back inside.

The blinds are still drawn and Shane’s moved from the bed… He’s nowhere to be seen. You glance around frantically, being very quiet, trying to find him. You almost give up until you hear a stifled sob. 

You turn towards the second door in the room. With a collected composure, you grab a painkiller from your bag and a water bottle and walk to the door, weaving through empty bottles and dirty clothes.

“Shane?” you ask, knocking on the door.

A choked sob of “go away!” answers you.

“I’m sorry, I can’t go away,” you turn the door handle. It’s unlocked. “I’m coming in, you can’t just lock yourself in there.”

He doesn’t respond, just sobs from under the door.

You turn the door handle, pushing open the door and stepping inside. It’s a washroom with a large tub. You glance around and see him clutching the bowl of the toilet.

You’re on your knees before you can even register the action. Your hand goes to his back and the other set the water bottle on the ground.

“Hey, are you okay?” you whisper, keeping your voice low.

“You must think I’m an asshole… throwing up the cookies…”

“I don’t think you’re an asshole. I’m worried.”  
“... I’m not… I just haven’t… haven’t had anything other than booze yesterday…”

“One sec,” you tell him, getting up and going to your suitcase. 

You pull out a gravel pill and return to him.

“Take these, it’ll help,” you say, offering the two pills and water to him.

He looks at your hand, reaching out to take them before turning and doubling over, emptying his stomach into the bowl.

Your hand goes to his hair, holding it back from his face as he wretches until he can’t anymore. 

When he’s done, he slumps against you and takes the pills. You flush the toilet and stand to grab a washcloth from the sink to wash his face.

Once he’s cleaned up, you help him to his feet. 

“Jeez, you stink,” you say, scrunching your nose as a rancid stench hits you.

“Sorry… need a shower…” he mumbles an apology.

“Fuck this. Your room is a mess, you’re rancid and just threw up, strip,” you order, crossing your arms over your chest.

“What…?” he looks at you with a furrowed brow.

“Strip. Everything off and just give it to me,” you instruct, moving past him to the tub.

You examine the tub, perfectly clean. So, you rinse it quickly with the showerhead and the push the drain down, starting to fill the tub with mildly hot water.

There’s rustling behind you and when you turn around he’s naked, holding a hand over himself to keep himself modest. He’s looking down at the floor in shame and holding his clothes out to you.

Your eyes scan over him, he’s got a beer belly and a little squish to him, hiding the testosterone-induced muscle of an alpha underneath the fat. You can see the muscle in his arms, and there’s a sense of, this man could crush me if he wanted. But, you can see he’s nothing more than a gentle giant who’d make one hell of a pillow.

“Thank you. I’ll trust you with the bath, I’m going to go clean up your room,” you say, taking the clothes from him.

“Okay…” he mumbles to the floor.

“Hey, chin up. This is a happy day,” you say, cupping the side of his face in one hand.

He leans into the touch, relaxing against your hand. Then he looks away and blushes, pulling back a bit.

You let out a chuckle.  
“I’m Gale by the way. Should’ve mentioned that already… It’s nice to meet you, Shane.”

“I know… your jacket said… It’s nice to meet you too.”

You laugh a little at yourself.  
“Well, enjoy your bath, make sure to clean behind your ears,” you tease, scratching behind his ears.

He practically leans into you, letting out a low rumble.

Both of you look at each other in shock before you cough.

“I’mgoingtogocleantheroomnowokaybye!” you squeak, leaving the bathroom. 

You close the door behind you and walk over to your suitcase.

“Fuck Gale… what have you gotten yourself into?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter is a little bit on the shorter side... it's really late for me when I posted this, but I just had to post it! What on Earth have You/Gale gotten yourself into!


	3. Red Plaid Blanket

Okay, so maybe cleaning up the room was a terrible idea. Maybe you should’ve planned this out more. Maybe you should’ve been prepared for the first time you’d pick up an empty bottle, or when you’d find a shattered one thrown at a wall. Maybe you should’ve composed yourself instead of crashing down on the floor in tears.

Yet, here you are, crying in a mess of dirty clothes and broken glass. 

Why did Yoba look at you and decide to give you a broken soulmate? Why did they think that you could handle picking up the pieces of a man numbed by alcohol? 

You already had to pick Sam up… now he gets to run off with someone who doesn’t know what he’s been through… with someone that’ll love him… that’s meant to love him.

You know you can pick up Shane. Glue him back together. But what… what if you don’t have enough glue left? What if you put yourself, your heart, your soul, into this man and he shatters and breaks in your arms?

Can you handle losing a soulmate?

You blink, rubbing your eyes and staring at yourself.

“No. I’m not letting myself do this again. I have one chance to do good for a man who’s never had a shred good done for him in his life. I’m not wallowing in fear,” you tell yourself, standing up.

So, you make a system. Clothes go on the bed, bottles go in a recycle bag you found while digging, dishes go by the door and garbage goes in the trash.

Slowly, you dig yourself out of the hole. You can do this. It’s like picking up a room. He’s nothing like Sam, he’s yours and yours alone. You’re allowed to put your heart and soul into him. He’s allowed to give you his heart and soul.

It takes thirty minutes to pick up half the room. You stop and go to the bathroom door, reaching out and knocking on the wood.

“Shane? You good in there?” 

A muffled, pathetic, forced, “yes” comes back through the door. 

You take that as enough, you could tell his voice was laced with sobs, so you work faster.

You have a goal.

Thankfully, this time, it takes fifteen minutes to clean the rest up. All the clothes on the bed get dumped into the laundry basket, minus a few starting to mould, they go in the trash with a few mouldy dishes.

You walk over to the bathroom and let him know you’re going to leave the room for a while. He acknowledges your statement and you rush out of the room.

Robin is in the living room and gladly gives you a trash bag and tells you where to put the bottles and the trash, as well as showing you where the laundry room is. Somewhere Shane has probably never seen.

You decide to ask about Sam while you’re still in the laundry room.

“Oh, Sam’s doing great, he and Sebby took Jas and Vincent out to play in the yard. He’s fitting right in! I’ve never seen Sebby happier, he’s finally smiling,” Robin exclaims, a smile on her face big enough to light up a stage, and hugs your tightly.

Hearing it fills you with joy. You hug her back.  
“That’s great to hear. Sam’s been lost for so long, I’m glad he’s finally found someone to make happy.”

You finish up the conversation with Robin and head back to the room with a large garbage bag. With gusto, you swing open the door to the bedroom… 

To see Shane standing in the middle of the room, digging around his dresser for something. Stark naked.

Your whole body freezes up and you stand there, staring at him with big eyes. You’d seen him naked earlier, but this was different. This was on accident, last time was strictly necessary. You find yourself examining him way more closely. 

He’s a little chubbier than you thought, you can see the way his stomach presses into the drawer as he beds over it. His wet hair is sticking everywhere! It looks a mess. You can see just the right amount of chest hair across his chest and running a bit down his stomach towards his… you look away, your eyes going to his ass. It’s squishy and cute.

But you feel weird standing there, looking at him as he digs through the drawer, not knowing you’re there.

You don’t want to startle him though, so you just go about your job, grabbing the laundry bin and shuffling out of the room. You take the laundry downstairs and start the first load as Marnie spots you.

“Oh don’t worry yourself about doing that, I’ll do it,” she tells you, shooing you away from the basket and taking over.

“You sure? I can do it, I don’t mind…” you rub the back of your neck awkwardly.

“Shoo, I can do this. Go be with my nephew, make sure he doesn’t drink himself senseless today,” she instructs you, waving off. “If you need nest blankets, Seb will show you. He’s inside the community nest.”

You mumble an “okay, thanks” to her as you walk off. You find yourself a bit nervous to talk to Sebastian. He’s Sam’s mate, he should be easy to talk too, but the thought of another Omega scares you a bit.

You make your way to the nest to find Sebastian and Sam playing with Jas and Vincent while talking to Robin.

You take a seat on the edge of the nest next to Sam.

“Oh! Hey Gale! This is Sebastian! He’s my soulmate! How’s your soulmate?” Sam exclaims like an over-excited puppy, gesturing to the omega next to him.

Sebastian, as it turns out, is a shy, awkward omega, wrapped up in a large black hoodie, trying to hide behind his hair and next to Sam while Vincent sits on his lap.

The sight of Sam so happy and the way he’s protecting Sebastian just fills your heart with joy.

“I’ve heard, hi, I’m Gale,” you say, waving awkwardly to Sebastian. “Shane is… he’s… well...”

Sam starts to laugh, Robin sneaking in a little giggle too.   
“Gale, you’re turning red! What did he do?!” Sam teases, leaning towards you.

“NOTHING!! He just… I got him to take a bath… and he’s…” your sentence trails off into nothingness as the sight of him stark naked flashes in your mind.

“Gale, you’re such a sucker for a dad bod,” Sam teases, rolling his eyes, hard, at you.

“It’snotmyfaulthe’ssocute! He kinda reminds me of you when you were… out of it. It makes it easier to clean up, since I know what I’m doing,” you explain, the words sounding weird to you when you say them.

But Sams your best friend, been through the worst with you and seen the best. He knows what you’re saying.

“Yeah, I got’ ya’. Did you need something?” Sam nods his head, putting an arm around Sebastian. 

“Oh yeah! Sebastian, Marnie said you’d know where to find nest blankets?” you ask, looking over at the tired omega.

“Yeah, follow me,” he groans, stretching as he stands up next to Sam.

Sam moves to go with him but Robin stops him.

“It’s an omega thing, don’t,” she tells him as Vincent flops on his chest anyway.

You follow Sebastian over to a small room on the side of the hallway, it’s as big as a walk-in closet, all around you are blankets. Big, small, soft, rough. There’s all the types you could want here.

“I don’t know about your last home, but they send us new ones every month, for heats and what not. We kind of have a lot. Take whatever you need,” he says, pulling out a blanket that catches his eye and wrapping it around himself mumbling about how Sam will like it.

“Thank you so much, you’re a lifesaver. Also yes, Sam will like it. Anything super soft and he’ll curl under it,” you comment, pulling a blanket off the shelf and handing it to Sebastian. “Try this one too.”

Sebastian looks at you with a slightly confused and protective look.

“Oh relax, he’s my best friend. I’ve lived with him since I was born. He’s like a brother to me, I’m just giving you advice,” you explain to him.

His expression dissipates.  
“Thank you, I’m sorry… I never really had an omega friend, so I’m new at this. It’s a lot.”

“Yeah me too, take it slow. If you need a breather, tell Sam that. He’ll understand. And if you need anything omega related or about Sam, ask me.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

You chuckle a bit.  
“You’re my best friend slash brothers mate. You’ve also been taking care of my now, well, kid I guess, and you’ll be taking care of another one of my adoptive kids. I gotta be a good friend to my only ally in this Alpha dominated family.”

He laughs a little too.  
“Yeah, when you put it that way, it makes sense. Thank you. I don’t know much about Shane, but I do know you should grab a lot of blankets. He likes to barry himself in them.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that and if there’s anything I can do for you-”

“I’ll ask. Good luck, you’ll need it,” he says, patting you on the shoulder as he leaves you alone in the blanket closet.

You huff. Maybe you just gained a very powerful ally in this house… In any matter, you have a goal to complete. So you go through the room, pulling out blankets that catch your eye. A couple sticks out to you, one with chickens printed across it, another with a tiger on either side, one dark, one light, a dark black blanket, one with a map across it, another with taco’s and mustaches, another that’s pizza-themed. You take all of them that catch your eye, taking Sebastian’s words to heart. 

Sure, you have the ones you packed, but those are few and far between. 

Having taken the trash out already, you make your way back to the room. After a few attempts, you get the door open. In a one-track mind, you dump all of the blankets on the mattress sat on the floor with a slightly raised rim around it so it keeps anything inside safely. Then you open your suitcase and toss in the odd blankets you packed. Your favourite one, a plaid red one, resting on the edge of the rim. 

Then you drag out an oversized hoodie. It’s the same size as Shane’s clothes, you noticed as you were picking it up. You decide to give it to him.

So you finally take note of where he’s in the room. He didn’t go far, that’s for sure. He’s curled up on his bed under wrinkled sheets, staring at the wall. You can only see the top of his head.

Sighing, you walk over to the bed. You decide to let him lay there for a while without actively disturbing him, so you place the hoodie on top of the mound, letting him see the fabric.

As you turn to go, you brush your hand on his hair.

With Shane mopping in his own personal rain cloud, you make your nest. It’s the only way you know how to get an Alpha to truly relax. You proved that with Sam, and he wasn’t even your mate. As you pad the rim of the nest with blankets, making a bowl of them with awkwardly spread out blankets in the center, your mind wonders how much of an effect a scented nest will have on a soulmate.

You might be able to keep your promise to Marnie of keeping him sober today. 

The nest is far enough from the door, shoved in the corner across from the bed, that if someone was in it, someone who just walked in wouldn’t get a clear view of them.

Once you finally finish putting down all the blankets and arranging them in a way that pleases you, you’re sweaty and overheating in your hoodie and jeans.

So, you go to your suitcase and grab another shirt and a pair of sweatpants. They’re green camo and the shirts a dark black. You pay no mind to thinks around you as you strip down to your boxers and change into new clothes. When you’ve changed, you tuck the scented clothes into your nest. It was Shane’s hoodie after all.

Satisfied with your nest, you turn to Shane. And finally, realize he’s been watching you. You didn’t even heart the shuffling when he changed into the hoodie you set on top of him.

A deep blush creeps across your face as his curious, slightly grumpy eyes watch you.

You walk over to the bed.

“Well, if you’re going to just mope, at least do it somewhere comfortable,” you tease, pulling the sheet off of him and immediately regret your decision.

You don’t know what you were expecting, but it certainly wasn’t him only wearing boxer briefs. Now the blush on your cheeks is deeper than you’d like to admit.

He, on the other hand, shoots up in bed and pulls the covers to him as he does so.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to! I didn’t know!” you squeak, jumping back.

Both of you stare at each other with wide eyes. Your heart is pounding in your chest, longing to reach forward and kiss him, to make him feel better…

Instead, a gruff voice cuts your thoughts.  
“I’m sorry… couldn’t find pants,” he confesses. His voice is like lemonade on a summer night, melting to the touch but refreshing and a little odd, something you can’t place.

“It’s okay, but I was serious, you shouldn’t mope in your bed all day,” you mumble, moving forward and picking him up off the bed a little.

He leans into you as you half carry, half walk him over to your nest. He stops at the edge, looking at you with sadness in his eyes.

“You don’t want me in there… I’ll just make a mess of it and you’ll get mad and you made that… why are you being so nice to me?” he half cries, half mumbles at the floor, staring into the nest.

A soft sigh leaves your chest. Keeping your hand on his shoulder, you step into the nest, standing in front of him. Your hand brushes against his cheek, lifting his gaze to yours.

“Shane… I want you in here. Make a mess, tear it apart and wrap it around yourself, sit in it and don’t touch anything, I don’t care. It’s meant for… it’s meant for you.” The words usually aren’t this hard to say. It’s usually easier to tell someone this, but with him, you feel vulnerable.

He gives you a sad look, like a rejected puppy and just slumps forwards, his head landing on your neck. Carefully, you help him step down into the nest and sit. Once he’s sitting, you pull his head into your lap and stretch out.

You can feel his hands grip your shirt, trying not to bring a blanket over himself. Too wary to wreck what’s around him in case he’d be rejected.

You shift down a little, pulling his head up closer to your chest and pulling a super fluffy blanket on him. The red plaid blanket from your suitcase.

Your heart breaks a little as he curls it around himself, clutching your torso like it’s a lifeline. So, your hand goes to his hair, brushing it gently. You can feel a little bit of him relax after a while and he starts to curl closer to you.

Then, after what feels like nothing and forever, a small rumble emanates from him. You see his face go beat red out of embarrassment, but you don’t make a big deal about it. You just keep petting his head as his resolve dissolves.

Nothing prepared you for what happened next. As his resolve dissolved, he started to break and tears pricked his eyes, slowly turning into sobs.


	4. Shopping Spree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the chapter you asked for but the chapter you didn't know you needed. With everyone holed up in quarantine, I thought we could all use a good shopping trip. Lord knows Shane did!

You stare down at this man in your lap as his tears dampen your shirt. You just pet his hair. A simple touch managed to break him. You almost can’t believe it and you catch your hand still threaded in his hair. Carefully, you continue petting him. 

As he continues to cry, a small part of you forms a plan. 

“Shane, as much as I’d love to let you cry, I feel like you’ve done that far too much for it to be healthy. So we’re gonna put you to work instead, and give your mind a little break as your hands are put to good use,” you state, moving to get up from the nest. Fuck that may have come off as sexual.

He looks at you and blinks. Sniffling as he wipes his eyes.  
“What?”

“We’re going shopping!” You declare, trying to convince yourself that this was the right choice. But the room was getting even you down, with its grey-ish blue walls and slightly stained wood floor. It seemed bare, prison cell bare.

“What?” he repeats, a little more bluntly as he stares at you.

“We’re, going, shopping. Like, to the mall, buying paint and furniture,” you clarify, giving him a big smile, now fully on board with your own plan.

He opens his mouth to protest but you’re already handing him a pair of pants. Luckily the outfit you had put on earlier actually looked like you had put effort into it so you didn’t have to fuss over your appearance as he pulled on the dark blue jeans. You simply grabbed his hand when he finished and your wallet with your omega ID before heading out of the door.

Your omega ID served many purposes in the world you lived in. It was a bus pass that guaranteed you safe transport, it was a credit card to you because it now had Jas and Vincent being your children listed on it, any purchases you made were paid for by the government, which was only doubled by the alpha you had trailing behind you now. For some reason, Omega’s seemed to have more authority than their protective counterparts, probably due to you being able to bear children.

As you dragged Shane by the wrist, you made sure to stop Marnie before you left the house, checking on where the best bus routes were and if she needed you to pick anything up for them while you were out. You didn’t expect her eyes to go wide and for her to bring you into a bone-crushing hug.

“Oh, dear, I knew you were good! I’m so sorry I doubted you!” she wept into your shoulder as you awkwardly hugged her back.

“I um… thank you?” you say back, confused about what to say.

She pulls back from you, her hands on your shoulders.   
“You managed to pull him out of his hole and look at you, not even a day later and you’re taking him shopping!” Marnie declared, pride in her voice.

It was the most prideful someone besides Sam had ever been towards you.

“Well, there’s no sense letting him mope in that prison cell he calls a room,” you explain as Shane stands awkwardly next to you.

Marnie turns to Shane.   
“Well, he has no one to blame but himself for that,” she tuts to him. “Are you going to let Jas know you’re going out for the day?”

“About that, would it be okay if we take her with us? I want to let her pick out a few things,” you ask, looking at Marnie hopefully.

Shane grabs your hand behind your back and squeezes it tightly.

“Of course! That’s a great idea! I’ll go get her!” Marnie declares, rushing off.

You turn your attention to Shane once she’s gone.  
“Are you okay?”

“Do you think she’ll want to see me?” he asks, all too quickly, making your heartache.

“Shane, she is your niece, god-daughter, and technically daughter, she doesn’t care what you look like, how grumpy you are, she just wants to be around you and have you care about her. Trust me, she’ll want to see you,” you reassure him, reaching forwards and cupping the side of his jaw gently.

He sighs and looks down a little.  
“I hope so…”

“I know so. She’s just a kid Shane, she’s not going to-!” Your sentence is cut through as a little figure barrel into the two of you and hugs the mid-section of your chests.

“DA!” she cheers, hugging the two of you tightly.

“H-hey squirt, how’ve you been?” he asks, a wave of uncertainty in his voice.

“I’m great! Where we going?” she asks eagerly, looking between the two of you.

“We’re going shopping! Are you going to help me pick out things for your da’s room?” you ask, giving her a big smile.

Her eyes go wide and her smile grows bigger.  
“YES!”  
You leave the house chuckling, after waving goodbye to Marnie. You and Shane walk Jas down to the bus stop, she walks between the two of you, holding both your hands. She seems completely unphased by your presence, perfectly happy and accepting of you.

To you, that’s a major win, especially for the first day. You check your watch, it reads somewhere in the early afternoon, around twelve. 

The bus only takes a few minutes to come and you three sit in the back row, per Jas’s request. You only needed to flash the bus driver your ID. When you were given Shane’s folder, you got an updated version of his and Jas’s ID’s as well, listing you as a mate and parent, respectively. You make sure to tell them this, so they know you’re carrying them and they seem more than appreciative of you carrying them around for the time being.

The conversation is mostly just Jas pointing out things they drive by, giggling and talking with the both of you. She managed to drag your favourite colour out of you, as well as Shane’s, lime green, and she added her’s in as well, violet. She bragged how Marnie taught her what violet was and now it was her favourite colour.

Eventually, the bus comes to a stop at your station and you hop off with Jas and Shane behind you. In front of you stands a massive mall with shopping carts out front. It was a government design, meant to be able to supply you with everything you needed in one visit. Perfect for when you want to buy paint, oranges and dildos in one place. 

Okay maybe you weren’t going to buy those exact things today, but it’s not like you haven’t had stranger trips here when Sam was drinking and you needed to take Vincent somewhere so he didn’t have to see that.

You take Jas’s hand and crouch down to her level.  
“Jas, this is a big place and there’s a lot of other people here. Can you make sure you’re holding one of our hands at all times? Please? And no running off,” you ask, adding the last part as a precautionary measure.

She nods.  
“You got it!”

So, you stand up and she takes Shane’s hand in her other hand as you grab a shopping cart from the stalls.

Shane makes sure to stick close to you as the three of you walk into the mall.

“So… where are we going first?” he asks, giving you a wary look.

“We have a few basic shops to visit first before we can go into stuffies, clothes and anything else you might want, so bear with me. Okay?”

“Okay,” he nods, following you as you take him into a hardware shop.  
First, you head to the paint section and have him and Jas pick out the colours for his bedroom. Thankfully, he doesn’t just go with white and instead decided on one wall being a giant chalkboard, the wall next to it being a horizontal wood panelling with hidden hooks for storage, and the other two walls being a red-brown colour.

Next, you take him to choose some new wood flooring that will fit his colour scheme, due to his being old, warped and stained by god knows what. The three of you decide on a medium coloured brown that will contrast pleasantly with your wood wall.

You spoke with the front desk and placed an order for all your items so they’d arrive at Pelican Town the next day. You also made sure to get a second opinion to make sure it would match and the staff member showed you a design of the room with your selected colours and you fell in love. 

Shane mostly stuck by your side and supplied his opinion when you asked, which was every single decision. It was going to be both of your rooms, but it was still mainly his and you didn’t want to make a decision that he hated. Though, you were finding it hard to make a decision he didn’t like. Even with all his whining. 

Honestly, it was amazing how much you were able to control him. Most of the time it was alpha’s trying to control you. The keyword here is ‘trying’. It never worked.

You didn’t really notice until you had decided he needed new sheets and he started to whine.

“Why do I need new ones? Mine are perfectly fineeee!” he whined, walking next to you as you pushed the cart with Jas in it.

“Your sheets are not, fine, they’re full of holes and stained. And Marnie says you only have one set. We’re getting you new sheets,” You state, not looking for an argument, but still holding a playful tone in your voice.

He shakes his head, a poor attempt to hide a smile.  
“Okay, okay. But Jas picks them out, so if we end up sleeping in princess sheets it’s your fault.”

You laugh as Jas mocks offence to the statement.

“Don’t worry Da’, I bet they have chicken sheets for you! Da’ loves chickens, he thinks they’re adorable,” Jas tells you, a big smile on her face as the man beside you goes bright red out of embarrassment.

“Oh really? Is there anything else he loves?” you press with a giddy smile.

“Yeah! You! Every night he’d mope around in that leather jacket saying something about his soulmate and how much he’s going to love them when he meets them!” Jas says with child-like innocence.

You go red and turn away to stare at the shelves passing you by.

As Shane’s about to open his mouth to defend himself, you pipe-up to change the conversation.

“Oh look! There are sheets! Why don’t we find some sheets?”

Jas quickly drops the topic as she spots dark blue sheets with chickens printed across them. You, of course, put them in the cart, as well as a set of dark red sheets to have a little flexibility.

Shane quickly directs you two to new pillows, letting Jas pick out a new one as well. Per Jas’s request, the next shop your visit is a huge stuffie and blanket emporium. It’s meant for omega nests, which is perfect for you. You had to leave a lot of stuffies that smelt like booze and cum back at your old house.

You just picked up a noodle dragon plush from your favourite video game off the shelf and placed it in your cart with a huge smile on your face as it stared back at you with slightly off-center eyes. You always had a soft spot for slightly deformed plushies since no one else seemed to buy them. When you heard Jas talking to Shane in the other isle.

“Come on Da’ just ask! I’m sure they won’t say no!” she’s telling him. Curiosity gets the better of you and you push the cart to where he’s standing.

He’s holding the world’s roundest and cutest blue chicken plushie, trying to put it back on the shelf as Jas blocks him.

“You goofball, just put it in the cart,” you chuckle, giving him a raised eyebrow of amusement.

He flushes and shuffles over to the cart with Jas saying she told him so as he drops it in the cart.

“Well little lady, what do you want?” you ask as she stops by your side.

She gives you wide eyes and runs further into the shop. You look at blankets with Shane, deciding on the one he’s practically rubbing on his scent glands. It’s a blanket with a print of your two favourite characters from your favourite video game. A large man with a pig tattoo on his stomach and a skinny man with a manic expression with a tire on his back.

“I didn’t know you played,” you say as he drops the blanket in the cart.

He looks at you with wide eyes.  
“I didn’t know you did. I use to play, but my tv broke and I didn’t bother buying a new one.”

“Well consider that our next activety, except, we’re buying two tv’s so we can play together!” you announce, proud with your decision.

“Isn’t that excessive?” he asks with a slightly wary voice. “I mean I could just play on a laptop. It probably won’t be that hard to adapt too.”

“True…” you whisper, remembering the gaming laptop somewhere in your suitcase. “I already know how to play on a laptop and tv, so maybe just one. But we’re buying a decent gaming console as well.”

“Fair enough…”   
He looks like he’s about to say something but Jas runs back holding the fattest white cat plush you’ve ever seen. It’s at least as big as she is.

Shane picks it up and places her and the plush in the cart as the three of you continue your shopping trip, a little more comfortable air between the three of you.

The trip lasts long into the evening, with the three of you eating at the mall, you choose burgers with Shane but Jas wanted sushi and a slushie so you got her sushi as well. You buy Shane, yourself and Jas some new clothes. The most notable outfits being a shirt with guitar chords across the front for yourself, a shirt with a controller on the front for Shane (you found it hilarious. Him, not so much), and a violet dress for Jas.

You also managed to get your hands on a TV and a new gaming console. The cleric said they were the newest and best at the moment. You made sure to double-check on your phone before purchasing them. You also snagged a few new games, controllers, another gaming system, this one being able to be handheld and docked, and two headsets.

Jas wanted a handheld system so you got her it as well, purchasing her the latest island farming sim that was getting a whole lotta hype.

You made a few more minuscule purchases, but nothing major, mostly groceries for the house, snacks to enjoy and a few items you had to have Shane distract Jas for. One item stuck out to you, a pastel yellow and blue-collar. You weren’t sure if it was for you or Shane, but he asked you to purchase it, so you didn’t question it at the moment.

You managed to get the mall to ship your items to your house so they’d arrive tomorrow and you wouldn’t be swamped on the bus ride home.

By the time you got home, Jas was sleeping on Shane’s thighs and the day had turned to night. Shane carefully carried her inside and you tucked her into bed after taking her shoes and socks off.

Marnie was waiting for you two when you came out of Jas’s room.

“So? How’d it go?” she asked as Shane shuffled away to his room.  
“It was great. Shane and I found a game we shared interest in and we bought a lot of items for his room so it’s not so prison cell-like. They’re meant to arrive tomorrow around one or two so we can get started on his bedroom. We’re doing a chalkboard wall!” You say proudly as the two of you moved to the door to Shane’s room.

“That’s good. I’m glad you two are getting along and so is Jas. Have a goodnight,” she says sweetly, giving you a soft hug.

“Thanks, Marnie. Sleep well,” you say before closing the door behind you.

Shane is mid-change into a pair of PJ pants when you enter the room and make an attempt to cover up.

“How are you doing? You haven’t had alcohol today, are you okay?” you ask him, concern in your voice.

“Yeah… I’m fine as long as there’s something to take my mind off it… just don’t let Jas in here tomorrow when we’re doing the room. Your scent puts me at ease, and it helps a lot, but I don’t want to accidentally blow up at her.”

“Okay. Do you want me to sleep in my nest ton-”

He stops you mid-sentence.  
“No! You can sleep in the bed with me if you want. You’re my soulmate, it’s not that weird.”

You shake your head at how eager he is for physical contact but don’t argue. You just agree and change into pyjamas with your back to him.

He’s already in bed when you’re finished brushing your teeth, shifting nervously around.

“It’s fine, let’s just get some sleep,” you tell him, moving his hand away from the sheet of his bed gently.

He gives a defeated sigh.  
“Yeah… okay.”

You lay down on one end of the bed and he lays down on the other and you shut off the light, saying goodnights in the dark before drifting off for the night.


	5. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's currently 1 am when I started this and oh boy if that doesn't say something about my sleep schedule then I don't know what does.
> 
> Shorter chapter today, because I didn't want to dump an entire day in one chapter.

Morning sun is in your eyes when you finally resume consciousness again. You grunt and attempt to move, but there’s a weight around your waist, pinning you to the bed.

You attempt to shift so you can see what’s holding you down, only for the “thing” to mumble behind you and stir a bit, pulling you closer to itself.

Your hand falls on the weight on your waist to find that it’s just Shane, snuggled around you. Your heart skips a few beats at the thought of him holding you. 

Then the overwhelming urge to piss hits you like a truck. 

“Shane... Shane… Shane!” You whisper at first, turning into more of a talking voice as an attempt to rouse the man behind you.

“I’m tryna’ sleep… shudda’ up,” he grumbles, nesting his face in the crook of your neck and breathing softly.

“I need to pee, come on, move you big lug.” The sentence comes out like an instinct, startling you as you feel yourself say the words.

Begrudgingly he groans and lets you go and you dart your way to the washroom. 

When you finally return, he’s rubbing his eyes, getting up as you leave the washroom and closing the door behind himself. 

You busy yourself with getting dressed, a grey work shirt and a pair of high-waisted jeans that you reserve for dirty work. You’ve managed to shove yourself into a pair of palm tree socks when he returns.

“I’m going to see if they made breakfast,” you mumble as he starts to root through his drawers for something that resembles work clothes. 

He grunts as an acknowledgement as you leave the room.

You mostly left to get the thought of him curled up around you out of your head. You just met him yesterday, but there’s an air of comfortability between the two of you. You chalk it up to him being your soulmate as you reach the common area, stretching as you do so.

“Ah, good morning Gale, breakfast is almost ready! Is Shane coming?” Marnie chirps from the counter while pulling some buns out of the oven.

Over at the stove, a grey-haired man speaks up while scrambling eggs and cooks some sausage.  
“I’m Lewis, by the way, Marnie’s mate.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Gale. Shane’s just getting dressed. We’ve got so much fucking work to do today,” You say, sitting down next to Jas at the island.

“I heard, if you two need a hand with something, let me know. Demetrius and Pierre are always free, and Alex and Abagail might help as well. I’m free too,” Lewis mused as a Burnett alpha sat down next to you.

“You talkin’ about me?” the Alpha asked as you noted the green varsity jacket he was wearing.

“Ah, Alex. How’s Harvey this morning? Is he awake yet?” Lewis replied, giving him a smile over his shoulder.

“Nah, he was up till dawn again today. He’ll wake up for lunch later,” Alex huffs, giving you a look.

“Is Haley up as well?” 

“Yeah, she should be down when you call for breakfast. She wanted to cuddle with Harvey for a while.”

“I see.”

“Oh, I’m Gale. Shane’s soulmate,” you say, sticking out your hand.

Alex grunts.  
“I know. Harvey saw you yesterday when you arrived.”

“I see…”

You were about to give up on any conversation as Alex picked up his phone, until an oddly eccentric Omega bounded into the common area from the second story.

“Good morning everyone! I got another chapter done of my novel!” he announced proudly, taking a seat on the stool on your other side.

“That’s great Elliot, how far are you away from finishing?” Marnie asks, setting a plate of food in front of each of you before hollering that “it’s breakfast” down the hall and ringing a tiny bell by the side of the sink.

“Well, you know, I’m never closer to finishing until I’ve finished. Writing a novel is an extensive process and you need too…” 

You decide to block out Elliot’s monologue as you dig into your breakfast, sausages, eggs and biscuits. It’s the fluffiest scrambled eggs you’ve ever seen, and the biscuits have just the right density. It tastes even better than it looks on your plate.  
Suddenly, heavy arms drape over your shoulders and steal a sausage off your plate. You yelp and turn around to swat at Shane playfully, claiming that it was your sausage and he had no right. You really didn’t care though.

“What? Can’t I have food? I’m starving,” Shane retorts playfully, giving you a toothy smile as he bites into the sausage.

“You goofball, get your own food,” you chuckle, turning back to your plate.

Then you notice everyone staring at the two of you.

“What…?” you give a confused look to the group around you.

“How the fuck did you do that?” Elliot asks you, bewildered as his mouth hangs open, food still on his fork.

“Do what?”

“Shane’s… he’s… he’s dressed? And eating? And not grumbling?!” Elliot continues, gesturing wildly and nearly stabbing you with his fork.

“Elliot, I’ll let you in on a secret,” you gesture for him to lean in close, and he does so.  
“I pushed him out of bed and he hit his head,” you whisper to him, trying to be completely serious.

He looks at you, aghast.

You pull back, giggling at the look on his face.  
“I’m kidding! He’s taller than me and weighs twice as much as I do,” you manage to say through giggles as Shane returns with a plate of his own food.

“That’s horrible, why would you even say that?!” he whispers.

“Don’t worry about it,” you giggle as Shane drags you over to the community nest so you can eat breakfast with Sam and Sebastian.

You settle in Shane’s lap as you spark up a conversation with Sam, telling him what you did and watching as he starts to laugh as well.

Not long into breakfast, Jas and Vincent join you with their own plates and non-spill cups full of orange juice, just so they don’t leak them on the nest blankets.

Breakfast is delicious and as you sit there, others join you in the nest, you see a few new faces. There’s an older couple who take up the corner of the nest, a young omega girl with dark hair and a red-headed omega girl who Sebastian introduce as his half-sister and her soulmate, a gorgeous blonde alpha, who you assume is Haley, is now sitting in Alex’s lap next to you and a very dishevelled omega, who you assume is Harvey, has joined them to eat some late breakfast. Pierre is sitting with his mate as well, holding a conversation with Lewis and Marnie.

There’s a gentle hum of conversation when the doorbell rings.

Shane goes to check the door, and your packages have finally arrived.

Time to get to work!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been commenting and enjoying my work. I read each of your comments and they always bring a smile to my face. Please continue to comment, even if it's multiple from the same user, you can never annoy me! 
> 
> It brings a little ray of sunshine into my very dull world right now.

**Author's Note:**

> Shameless plug, but if you like my writing, consider checking out my original novel; Far From Home. It's on my page and it's about a polyamorous pirate who's trying to find his way home.


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